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Vanessa Rene
Basic Information Vanessa Rene is a confident and driven woman from Nafrece, employed at Bookwald Industries. She is the neighbor and close friend of Margaret Burton. In appearance, Vanessa is a little taller than most of the other women, and has blueish-green eyes and long, dark hair that's almost black. Her age is unknown, but viewers generally estimate that she's in her early thirties. Vanessa's goal throughout most of the Madlax anime series is to uncover the truth about the civil war in Gazth-Sonika. Backstory/Past In episode 6, we learn that Vanessa used to be Margaret Burton's tutor. When Margaret mysteriously returned after a few months of being missing, she had lost her memories as well as temporarily losing the ability to speak. It was Vanessa who taught her to communicate again. Without the tutor's help, Eleanor says Margaret wouldn't have been able to go back to living a normal, peaceful life. According to the information in episode 10, Vanessa graduated from Soldophine University with a degree in Information Systems and Technology. In other words, she was originally interested in computer science. Since she seems like an outstanding company employee for Bookwald Industries, Vanessa may have also studied Business, but this is never stated. During her time at Soldophine University, Vanessa competed with her friend Bagis for the top position in the IT department. The core of Vanessa's backstory is revealed in episode 13. Her father, a diplomat from Nafrece who went to work in Gazth-Sonika, was wrongfully accused of being one of the men who started the civil war. In reality, he did no such thing. The truth was cast into the darkness, and both Vanessa’s parents were kept from leaving Gazth-Sonika, becoming political prisoners. Vanessa doubts that her parents are still alive. This history imbued the determined woman with a thirst for the truth, and in particular, the truth about the civil war. Relationships/Relatives * Mr. and Mrs. Rene, Vanessa's parents, have no existing relationship with their daughter. That's because they were seized by the Gazth-Sonika government and held prisoner. Unable to contact them for twelve long years, Vanessa doubts her parents are even alive anymore. * Margaret Burton was tutored by Vanessa in the past, and the two are neighbors in the present. Vanessa cares about Margaret and does nice things for her such as buying her gifts and inviting her on trips. When speaking to Madlax about it, Vanessa calls Margaret a good friend rather than viewing her as a child. Margaret frequently thinks about and worries about Vanessa, and is willing to leave her country and risk her life to find and help the older woman. Clearly, the two of them are the best of friends. * Eleanor Baker, guardian and maid of Margaret Burton, is also good friends with Vanessa. The maid often takes metaphorical jabs at Vanessa, like when she pretends not to remember her, and begrudges her for the food when she comes to dinner unexpectedly. Vanessa, in turn, teases Eleanor, making her do things like cook extra food or prepare the bath for her just because she's a maid. The dynamic between Vanessa and Eleanor is all in good fun, as far as viewers can tell. When Vanessa is in trouble or doesn't contact her, Eleanor worries about her friend. She sometimes consults Vanessa for advice. She also feels deeply grateful to Vanessa for tutoring Margaret. All this proves she cares. Vanessa cares about Eleanor too. In episode 6, the older woman takes off work just to spend the afternoon with the maid. She also invites Eleanor along on her vacation in episode 10. * Madlax initially views Vanessa as just another client on a bodyguard mission; however, as the two spend more time together, they quickly become close. There is plenty of evidence suggesting the two women care for each other, mostly starting in episode 13. There may be a component of romantic attraction between them, as evidenced by the fact that they are fairly tocuhy-feely with each other and sleep in the same bed a few times-- plus, in episode 12, Madlax says she views Vanessa as a princess and herself as Vanessa's prince. In episodes 14 to 20 and beyond, the female mercenary protects and defends Vanessa from many enemies. In episode 17, Vanessa makes Madlax promise not to die, and afterward, that promise becomes Madlax's chief reason for living and continuing to fight. * Bagis (last name unknown) is Vanessa's old friend from Soldophine University. * Charlie Winston works with Vanessa at Bookwald Industries. Personality Vanessa is intelligent, as we can see from her university background and her general tendency to be knowledgeable and know what needs to be done next. Related to intelligence, she can also be cunning, able to make up lies to meet her ends, as we see in episodes 9 and 11. Eavesdropping, computer hacking, and bending the rules at work (for vacation in episode 9 for instance) are also things Vanessa is known to do. A bit mischievous, she sometimes teases Eleanor, Charlie, and Bagis. She is an independent spirit, who never married and never shows any interest in the subject. Instead, Vanessa works hard at her career. The fact that she's often reluctant to ask for help also shows she's independent. Usually, the determined woman doesn't let setbacks get her down. While she is generally laid-back about most things, Vanessa can be extremely stubborn when she's really made up her mind about something. Though she may not appear as affectionate or kind on the surface as the average anime female, Vanessa is still a caring person. She regards Margaret and Eleanor as close, true friends, and cares a great about Madlax once they get to know each other. Morally grounded, Vanessa believes that it's wrong to kill other humans, that Bookwald Industries is corrupt for exporting weapons to Gazth-Sonika, and that Enfant is "evil" for continuing the pointless civil war. As seen in episode 17, it takes Vanessa a while to forgive herself for shooting someone, even though she only wounded him, and it was to save Madlax's life. At first, she wants nothing to do with guns, and says that shooting a human is unforgivable. However, Vanessa is also very adaptable, and by episode 18, she makes the smart decision to ask Madlax to teach her to shoot. Finally, Vanessa Rene is a truth seeker: a person who would rather know the harsh, cruel truths of the world than live in ignorant bliss. Character Resolution There were several cases of foreshadowing of Vanessa's end wherein she tried to protect Madlax. When Madlax has temporarily lost her memories and reverted to a childlike state in episode 14, Vanessa tries to defend her from Limelda Jorg, taking up a gun, even though she's shaking like a leaf. It's Vanessa's courage that brings Madlax back to her senses in that episode and lets her beat Jorg. In episode 16, when a captain of the King's Army / Enfant agent is about ready to shoot Madlax, Vanessa steps up to the plate and shoots the captain, wounding him. Throughout the next few episodes, Vanessa and Madlax remind each other of their promise that they aren't going to give up and die, but keep trying their best to live. However, Vanessa sacrifices her life to save Madlax in episode 22. Limelda Jorg was trying to shoot the mercenary, but Vanessa warned her to move, and took aim to shoot at Jorg. She wounded Jorg and saved Madlax; however, the brave woman took a bullet to left side of her torso. Right after her death, Vanessa appears to Madlax in a vision and tells her to go on living like they promised. At first, it was Vanessa's goal to expose the secrets behind the Gazth-Sonika civil war. However, as she became more attached to her bodyguard, her true desire changed. She wanted to love and protect Madlax. In a way, she got a happy ending, doing what she chose and protecting her special someone.